Thursday Salute to Originals: Complex Cuts
Meet Riki Fukuda, the artist who creates intricate paper designs of sea creatures, reptiles, and flowers! She starts with a simple sketch of an animal or object and brings it to life. Riki’s tools are an X-Acto knife, a cutting mat, and origami paper and from that, she is able to transform the image from a sketch into an image that resembles an inked design. You seriously won’t believe that it’s just paper…
Riki is a Japanese artist whose inspirations are the natural elements of the ocean including marine life and botanical objects. Riki believes, “there’s a precious lesson here in the midst of all this imaginative imagery: these paper works will eventually fade and decay, pointing to the mortality and fragility of life in all its short-lived wonder.” This aesthetic is evident in her designs because it requires a tremendous amount of patience to complete one piece of work!
She refers to her X-Acto knife as the “cutting sword.” It is true that an artist is only as good as the tools that they use. One of Riki’s signature traits is to incorporate layering into each piece. This adds depth and makes the piece more so realistic. An example would be her latest works featuring portraits of human beings incorporating natural elements. The evolution of her paper designs is extraordinary!
This week we are saluting Riki Fukuda for her incredible paper designs that bring aquatic and botanical objects to life. She offers a unique interpretation of natural elements and the importance of how to preserve these elements in our world.
Sources: Riki Fukuda, This is Colossal, My Modern Met